Save Him With a Lie
by Emador
Summary: When Race gets in over his head with gambling debts, he has to turn to his best friend for help. But will the price be too high? #1 in my "Lies" series. [Repost; Originally posted 2014]
1. Orphanage

_Author's Note: This is the first in my 4-part "Lies" series. Originally posted in 2014._

* * *

 _1888_

Lily stared out at the world outside the orphanage. The only part of the outside world she'd ever seen was the stretch of Chambers street right in front of her. People passed by every single day, pretending not to see the kids in the yard. When she saw couples pass by, she'd try to put on her best 'poor orphan' face in hopes they would see her, their hearts would be filled with compassion, and they would take her home. But none of them ever did.

Occasionally people did come into the orphanage, often looking for their children who'd run away. Some times people did adopt, but they adopted the pretty little blonde-haired, blue-eyed girls with the button noses. Not girls like Lily with her frizzy brown hair and perpetually dirty nose.

"Hey kid," said a boy on the other side of the fence. Lily looked around, wondering to whom he could be talking. "You…yeah you." The short kid walked up to the fence, staring at Lily through the wrought-iron fence. "What is this place?"

"It's an orphanage," said Lily.

"That like a zoo for kids or somethin'?" he asked.

"No. It's where kids with no families stay."

The kid looked at the bars. "Huh. Looks more like a zoo."

"It's not a zoo!"

"So how old are ya, kid?" the boy asked.

"Six and a half," Lily said, standing up straight.

"Huh. I just turned seven."

Lily frowned. "Seven? You're shorter than me." The kid frowned back. "What's your name?"

"Anthony," he said. "But my friends call me Racetrack, or Race for short."

"I don't see any friends."

Race rolled his eyes. "Well, they're not here with me, dummy. What's your name?"

"Lily."

A voice called down the street. "Hey Race! Last one to Tibby's is a rotten egg!"

"See ya!" Race said and then took off down the street.

Lily sighed and sat down, watching other people pass by.

* * *

The next day, Race came by again.

"Just another day at the zoo, huh?" he smirked.

"I'm not in a zoo!" Lily pouted and walked away.

"Oh, hey, come back, I was just teasin'!" said Race. "Please? Come on, I wanna talk to you."

Lily looked back and hesitated. She slowly walked back to the fence. "Why do you wanna talk to me?"

Race shrugged. "I dunno, you seem lonely." He nodded at the building. "So when do ya get out?"

"This isn't a jail, it's an orphanage. I'll get out when some one adopts me, or I turn 18. So it might as well be jail, I guess."

"You like it in there?"

"I just called it jail, what do you think?"

Race put his hands up. "Sorry."

"So where do you live?"

"Over at a lodgin' house on Duane Street with a bunch of other newsies."

"Newsies?"

"Yeah, the guys who sell papes. I sell papes." He held up the small stack of papers in his hand.

"So you sell papes and make money, and you live in a house with a bunch of other guys?"

Race nodded.

"Can girls sell papes?" he asked.

"Some do, yeah."

"I wish I could sell papes."

"It ain't an easy life. Some times papes don't sell, so you're stuck with a big ol' stack, and no money for food. At least in there, you get all your meals and a warm bed to sleep in."

"At least out there, you've got friends."

"You don't got any friends in there?" Race nodded to some of the kids playing behind Lily.

"No," said Lily. "I don't like making friends in here. They always leave. They either get adopted or run away some how."

"Hm." Race looked up at the bars that separated them. "How come you never tried to run away?"

Lily shrugged. "I wouldn't know how to."

"I may know some people who can help."


	2. Breakout

Lily hid in the bushes by the fence. She went over the Racetrack's plan in her head, making sure she didn't miss a step.

During outside time after dinner, she told one of the nuns she wasn't feeling well and asked to go inside. She went inside, stuffed her bed with pillows so it looked like she was lying in there. She snuck back outside, sticking to the walls and behind bushes. All she had to do now was wait.

She had the horrible thought of what if this was a trick? What if Race was just teasing her when he said he'd come back to break her out? What if he was back at his lodging house now, laughing with the others, thinking about her hiding in the dark, cold bushes all hours of the night? She pulled her knees to her chest and wrapped her arms around them. She didn't think about bringing a coat. Or extra clothes. She sat in the dark and waited. And waited. And waited.

She heard a noise down the street, but it was just a carriage rolling by. A drunk stumbled down the street in the opposite direction, mumbling to himself. Lily was beginning to think Race would never come.

"Psst! Lily!" she heard. Her heart soared when she looked up and saw Race, crouched down, looking through the fence.

"Race!" she whispered. "Over here!" Race crept along the fence until he got to the bush she was hiding in.

"Fellas, over here!" Three boys crept along, following Race. One had an oversized cowboy hat on his head, one had curly brown hair, and the last was a boy with an eyepatch. "Lily, this is Blink and Jack and Mush."

"Catch," whispered Jack, as he hung onto one end of a rope and tossed the other part over the high fence. "Tie it around your waist."

As Lily wrapped and tied the rope around her waist, Race explained the plan. "We're gonna pull you up, but try and climb the wall next to you. Soon as you get to the top, you can shimmy down the bars. We'll catch you."

"What if they see me?" asked Lily.

"They won't," said Blink. "I'll keep a lookout."

Lily raised her eyebrows. "You brought the kid with one eye to be the lookout?"

Mush laughed. "I like this one."

"No one wanted to adopt you, imagine that," said Race, rolling his eyes.

Lily stuck her tongue out at him. "Ready?" Lily asked.

The boys nodded and pulled on the rope as Lily held on and tried to pull herself up the wall as much as possible.

"I can't get over," Lily whispered, looking at the decorative points at the top of the fence.

"You'll be fine," said Race. "Just get yourself over."

"What if I fall?"

"We'll catch you!"

Lily managed to get herself over and slid down the fence. She lost her grip about halfway down and fell right on top of Race

"Oof!"

"Sorry!" said Lily.

"It's okay." Blink and Jack helped Lily up and Mush gave Jack a hand up.

"Who's out there?" a voice from the door of the orphanage called.

"Cheese it!" Jack whispered. "Scatter!"

Race grabbed Lily's hand and ran down the street. The other three boys ran in separate directions. Race and Lily didn't stop running until they were three blocks away. They ducked into an alley out of breath.

"Wow," Lily panted. "What a start to a new life."

Race chuckled. "You better make it a good one. I think I pulled a muscle."

Lily leaned against the wall and caught her breath. Race sat down on an upturned crate.

"Hey, Race?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks." Even though it was dark, Lily smiled.

"You're welcome, kid," Race grinned.

* * *

Race and Lily walked down the street.

"Here we are," he said, turning onto a street.

"I thought you said the lodging house was on Duane Street," said Lily.

"Mine is. I'm takin' you to the girls lodging house," he said. "Don't worry – they'll take care of you. My sister lives there."

He walked up the stoop of a building and knocked on the door.

"What if they don't like me?" Lily asked.

"They'll like you just fine," said Race.

The door opened and an older girl answered. "Well, hey Race," she said, leaning against the doorjamb. "Who's this?" She nodded at Lily.

"Hey Tail. This here is Lily, and she needs a place to stay," said Race.

"Sure," Tail nodded.

"Can I talk to Ellie?" he asked.

"Ellie, Race is here to see you," said Tail, walking back into the house, leaving the door open.

Another girl came to the door. She was younger than Tail, but still seemed a couple years older than Lily. She had the same eyes and brown hair as Race.

"Hey Anthony," she said. "Who's this?"

"This is Lily," said Race. "The guys and I just busted her out of the orphanage. Lily, this is my sister, Ellie."

"Hi," said Lily shyly.

"Hi," Ellie gave her a friendly smile. "Come on in."

"Thanks," said Lily, stepping into the lodging house.

"Can you walk her to the circulation office tomorrow?" Race asked. He looked at Lily and smirked. "I'll teach ya how to sell papes."

"Sure," said Ellie. "I'll see you in the mornin'."

"See ya," said Race, waving at them both and walking down the street.

"Come on in," said Ellie, closing the door. "I'll show you where we sleep." She gestured at the few girls hanging around the lobby. "There's not a lot of us that live here, but over there is Tail, Nancy, Rose, Baby, and Blanche. Tail, Baby, and Rose are newsies – the other girls and I work at a factory nearby."

"How come you're not newsies?" Lily asked.

Ellie shrugged, leading her up the stairs. "More money in the factory. Plus, it's kind of dangerous for girls to wander the streets of New York alone, even if they're just sellin' papes. It's kinda an unspoken rule that girls always get a sellin' partner. Sometimes the girls partner up together, but it looks like my brother wants to take you under his wing. How'd you two meet, anyway?"

"He walked down the street where the orphanage was one day and started talking to me," said Lily.

Ellie chuckled as they walked into the bunkroom. "Yeah, that's Anthony for you. He'll talk to anyone. This is where we sleep. Pick a bunk." Lily walked over to a bunk with a bare mattress and sat down. Ellie pulled out some sheets from a closet. "It's six cents a night to stay here, but the lady that runs the place, Ms. Cranbrook, isn't around often. She only collects when she comes around a couple times a week."

"I don't have any money," said Lily. "How am I going to buy papers tomorrow?"

"Anthony will spot you," said Ellie. "I'll make sure he does."

Later that night, Lily lay down on her bunk, sleeping for the first time away from the orphanage. She was in a room full of girls who'd welcomed her with open arms. For the first time, she felt accepted. Things were beginning to look up.


	3. January, 1894

_January 1894_

Lily woke up with a horrible pain in her stomach. She moaned and rolled over, curling up into a ball. The pain was too intense, she couldn't go back to sleep.

Baby woke up to the sounds of moans and whimpers in the next bunk over.

"Lily, you okay?" she mumbled turning over.

"No," said Lily. "I think I'm dying."

"Well, it's a good thing you're not overdramatic about it," Baby yawned, her English accent coloring her tone. She turned over.

Lily lay awake in bed for the next hour. She watched the sky outside turn deep blue, and it slowly got lighter. The first sunbeams hit the lodging house floor, and she watched them grow bigger.

Soon, girls began to wake up. The first ones to wake quietly got up and went about getting ready without bothering the other girls. Soon, the deeper sleepers woke up from the sounds of the other girls talking, dressing, and getting ready in the bathroom.

Lily looked over at Baby, who was waking up. Lily figured she might as well get up, despite the pain in her lower abdomen still there. She sighed and sat up.

"Um, Baby?" said Lily.

"Yeah?" Baby yawned, scratching her head.

"I think I really am dying," said Lily.

"Why?" asked Baby.

"I'm bleeding."

Baby looked over and saw the blood stains on Lily's sheets.

Baby's expression turned from annoyed to compassionate. "You're not dying," said Baby. "Hey Ellie, can you come here?"

"What is it?" Ellie asked, walking over.

"Lily needs the talk," said Baby.

Ellie looked over at Lily, seeing the stains. "Give Baby your money for papers. Baby? Go buy your and her papes and we'll meet you at the corner of the street. Let Race know that she won't be selling with him at their usual spot today."

Baby nodded.

"Why can't I sell with Race?" asked Lily.

"You're gonna want to sell near the lodging house this week," said Ellie. "Come with me. We'll get you cleaned up and I'll explain."

* * *

Lily sat next to Ellie on her bunk with fresh sheets and clean clothes, visibly shocked.

"Boys want to do _that_?" she asked.

As Ellie explained what was happening to Lily, she also had to explain the how and the why.

"Well, not right now they don't," she said. "At least your friends don't. But, as the boys get older, they will."

"That sounds…horrible," she said.

"I've heard it's not," said Ellie. "I mean, there are women out there who do it for a living."

Lily gave her a horrified look. "They do?"

"Mm-hm," Ellie nodded. "Come on. I'll walk you to the corner before Baby sells both your and her papes."

Lily got up and walked down the stairs with Ellie. She moaned as she walked. "Does it ever stop hurting?"

"After the first day or so it will stop," said Ellie.

They walked out the door. "So, how come Race can't sell with me on our street?" asked Lily.

"I was hoping to save you the embarrassment," said Ellie. "Or you would have to explain the temporary change of selling spot, and your frequent trips back to the lodging house."

Lily nodded. "That makes sense."

They walked to the corner where Baby was standing, holding a huge stack of papers.

"You girls take care, I'm going to work," Ellie told the younger girls, as she walked off in the direction of her factory.

"Geez, Baby," said Lily. "Why did you get so many papes?"

"Huge fire in Chicago at the World's Fair," said Baby, handing Lily half the stack. The still large stack was awkward in Lily's small arms. "We're gonna be rich by the end of the day."

Baby and Lily spend the day yelling the headlines all along their street.

It was noon by the time they sold out.

"Wow," said Lily, as they sat on the steps of their lodging house. "We must've sold a hundred and fifty papes today."

"I bet Jack sold two-hundred," said Baby.

"Don't you usually sell with him?" asked Lily.

"Yeah," said Baby, shrugging. "I just told him I couldn't today. You needed me."

Lily grinned. "Thanks."

Baby shrugged. "So long as you do it for me when my time comes."

Lily nodded. "Deal."

"Let's go get some lunch. I bet the boys are takin' a break about now," said Baby, standing up. Lily stood up and the girls walked down the street towards Tibby's. They walked in and were greeted by the sight of all their friends sitting, eating, and talking.

"There she is," said Race. "What gives? How come you didn't sell with me today?"

"Sorry," Lily shrugged. "I, uh…" She searched for an excuse.

"I needed her help with somethin'," said Baby. "She'll sell with you again next week."

"Next week?" Race frowned. "Why do—" An older newsie leaned over to Race and whispered something into his ear. "Oh." He glanced up at Lily and then concentrated on his food.

Lily glanced over at Baby, who could only offer an apologetic shrug. Lily sat down across from Race as Baby walked over and sat with Jack.

"So, good headline today, huh?" she said.

"Yeah," said Race. "I sold out within a couple hours."

"Yeah, we just sold out a little while ago," said Lily.

Race just nodded. In six years of friendship, this was the first awkward silence they had endured with one another. Lily chewed on her lip, as Race ate his food, very slowly and deliberately.

* * *

"It was so uncomfortable," said Lily, recounting her lunch with Race to Baby as they sold the afternoon edition. "It's never been that way between us before. And I didn't think he'd know about… _that_. I mean, I didn't even know about it until this morning."

"One of the older newsies must've explained it when he heard you weren't selling with him today," said Baby. "Jack's the same way. We've been best friends for so long, but lately it's just been getting…weird."

"Do you like Jack?" asked Lily.

"Of course," said Baby. "He's my best friend."

"No, I mean…do you _like_ Jack? As more than a friend."

Baby shrugged and shook her head. "Nah. He's like a brother to me."

"That's how I think Race thinks about me."

Baby's head snapped over to Lily. "You like Race?"

Lily shrugged noncommittally, but her grin gave her away. "Yeah…a little."

"You should talk to Ellie."

Lily wrinkled her nose. "Really? That wouldn't be weird? I mean she's his sister."

"She's our best friend," said Baby. "She'd understand. And she might be able to talk to Race. Or at least tell you what to do."

"Maybe."

* * *

The next week, Lily was back to selling with Race. Both of them had tried to forget the temporary awkwardness of the previous week.

Lily walked up to the distribution window. "Fifty papes, please." She put her money on the counter. Oscar Delancey shoved her papers through the window. Lily glared at him and counted out her papes. She sighed and rolled her eyes. "Give me the rest of my papes, Oscar."

"What?" asked Oscar. "I gave you fifty."

"No, you gave me forty-seven," she said. "Just like yesterday you gave me forty-eight, and forty-nine the day before. Give me the rest of my papes."

"Come on, Delancey," Race said from behind her.

"Give her the papers, you idiot," said Morris. "You're holding up the line."

Oscar rolled his eyes and gave Lily the rest of her papers.

"Jerk," she said, taking her papers and walking away.

Lily stood off to the side, skimming the headlines while Race got his papers.

Race walked up and slung his arm around her neck. "You see this story?" He opened the paper and pointed to a small story. "A baby born with a full beard."

"Must be from Brooklyn," Lily cracked.

Race laughed. "Let's go."

Lily waited outside the Wakefield Textile Factory for Ellie to get off work. When the bell rang and the doors opened, she kept an eye out for Ellie. Before long, she saw her emerge from the building.

"Ellie!" Lily waved her hand. "Ellie!"

"Hey Lily," said Ellie, grinning. "What brings you here?"

"Can we talk about something?" Lily asked.

"Sure," said Ellie, walking along with her. "What's going on?"

"I need some advice about Race," she said.

Ellie chuckled. "What has he done now?"

"Oh, nothing," said Lily. "It's just…I don't know, lately things are a little…different."

"Because you like him?" asked Ellie.

"I…what? How did you know?"

Ellie winked. "Every poker player has a tell."

"What do I do?"

Ellie put her arm around Lily. "Just give it time. If it's any comfort, you're all he talks about when we're together. You're his best friend and sellin' partner. You mean a lot to him, even if it's not romantically…yet."

Even though it was little consolation, Lily treasured the fact that if Race were given the choice to hang out with anybody, it would be her.


	4. Debt

_March 1897_

Lily looked over to where Race was selling. A girl about 14 years old, their age, walked up behind him and tapped him on the shoulder.

"Paper, please," she smiled sweetly. Involuntary jealousy burned within Lily.

"Um…" said Race, momentarily stricken dumb.

The girl held up a penny. "Can I buy a paper?"

"Oh, uh…um…" said Race.

Lily walked up behind Race. She slid one of his papers out of his arm and handed it to the girl. She took the penny and slid it into Race' vest pocket.

"Sure," said Race, his reaction delayed.

The girl giggled and walked off, Race's eyes following her. Eventually, the girl turned a corner. He looked over at Lily who had her eyebrows raised.

"What?" he asked.

Lily shook her head. "You've got quite a way with the ladies."

"Ah, shut up," said Race. "It just…she caught me off guard is all."

"Mm-hm," said Lily, who had just sold her last paper. "Need help sellin' the rest of those?"

"Nah," said Race. "Hey, let's go to the track today. I can sell the rest on the way."

"Okay," said Lily. She loved going to the track with Race. Seeing all the dressed up people, the horses, and the cool ocean breeze made for memorable days.

* * *

Race sold his last paper as they walked up to the Sheepshead Racetrack in Brooklyn.

"You betting today?" Lily asked.

"I dunno," said Race, picking up a racing form. "The guy who usually gives me tips isn't here."

"Come on, I want to see the horses," said Lily, dragging him to the grand stand. They walked into the stands, and Lily got as close as she could to the front, so she could see the horses behind their gates.

"Higgins?" they heard a deep voice behind them.

Lily and Race turned around and saw a two tall Italian men standing behind them, one had his arms crossed, the other was standing a couple feet back, smoking a cigarette.

"Oh…hey Bruno…Nico," said Race nervously. Lily looked from the man to Race, confused.

"I want my money, kid," he said.

"I'll get it to you," said Race. "I just need a little more time."

"Time's up, Higgins. If you're not gonna pay, you're gonna work off your debt."

"Debt?" Lily whispered to Race.

"Fine, I'll work it off," said Race.

"Come to that address tomorrow," said Bruno, handing him a scrap of paper. Race glanced down at it and saw an address in Little Italy on it.

"Sure," Race nodded.

The man walked away and Race visibly relaxed, exhaling.

"Who was that?" Lily asked, worried. "What debt was he talking about?"

"Just a guy I borrowed money from once," said Race. "And I couldn't pay it back. But the longer I take to pay him back, the more I owe him."

"How does that work?"

"Interest. He charges me for every day I don't pay him back."

"How much do you owe him?"

"A dollar and sixteen cents now."

Lily's eyes widened. "Race! You don't have that kind of money!"

"I know," said Race, rubbing the back of his neck and shoving the paper into his pocket.

"What are you gonna do?" Lily asked.

Race shrugged. "I'm gonna have to work it off."

"Do you need help?" Lily asked.

Race shook his head. "No, I want you to stay away from those guys. I'll take care of it."


	5. Repayment

_September 1897_

Lily sat on the curb, watching Race try and sell his last few papers with no luck. She stood up and walked over. "Need help?" she smirked.

"I'm only letting you help because I got somewhere to be," he said, handing her half.

Lily walked down the street, calling the headlines. Soon, they sold out.

"Here you go," Lily handed him the money she made from his papes.

"Nah, you keep it," said Race. "You sold them."

Lily shrugged and pocketed the money. "So where do you have to go?"

"I gotta go work off my debt for that guy."

"Need any help?"

"Sure," Race shrugged. "It's just making deliveries."

Race led her down the street. "What are we delivering?" Lily asked.

"I'm not sure yet," said Race. "We gotta go to Little Italy and pick up whatever we're delivering from Mr. Morello."

"Who's Mr. Morello?"

"He's the guy I borrowed money from."

"I thought you borrowed from that guy Bruno."

"I did…but Bruno works for Morello."

They walked to Little Italy, down side streets and allies until they go to the right house. Race walked up the steps and knocked on the door.

Bruno opened the door. "Here ya go, kid," he said. He glanced past Race and saw Lily standing on the sidewalk. He nodded towards her. "You bring along your backup?" He chuckled.

Race just turned around and walked back down the steps. Bruno watched them walk down the street until they turned a corner.

* * *

"That last guy looked really scared when you gave him to envelope," said Lily as she and Race walked through Harlem. "What are these letters anyway?"

"Don't know," said Race. "I don't ask, I just work."

"Aren't you curious?"

"Not really," said Race. "I've seen enough reactions of people to not want to know what's in them."

"How many more do we have?"

"Just one. It's just down the street here."

They found the address listed on the envelope and Race knocked on the door. A man answered.

"Delivery," Race said, handing him the letter.

"No," the man said, seeing the handwriting on the envelope. "No…please, no."

"Just take it, okay?" said Race.

The man took the envelope and opened it, reading the letter. "No…" He dropped the letter and ran down the street.

"That was odd," said Race.

Lily walked up behind him and picked up the discarded letter. She picked it up and read it.

 _Mr. O'Keefe,_

 _Due to your inability or unwillingness to repay your debt in full, we are demanding payment immediately. Come to us with the sum you owe, and we will return your daughter._

 _Cordially,_

 _V. Morello_

"Oh my God, Race," said Lily, handing him the letter.

Race tried to swallow the lump forming in his throat as he read it. "See, that's why I didn't want to know." He dropped the letter and walked away.

Lily had to jog to catch up with him. "You've gotten mixed up with some dangerous people."

"I know," Race sighed. "That's why I try and work a lot for them so I can repay what I owe and be done."


	6. One Chance

_November 1897_

Baby and Lily were on their corner selling the morning edition.

"How come you're not sellin' with Race today?" Baby asked.

Lily shrugged; not wanting to tell Baby what Race was really up to. Race hadn't let her come with him that day to work for Morello. "He just said he had to run some errands. Not sure what that means."

"Paper," said a man behind Lily.

"Sure," said Lily, turning around and holding out a paper. She recognized Bruno standing in front of her. "Bruno."

"You're comin' with me," he said.

Lily made a move to run, but in the split second, Bruno grabbed her arm.

"Lily!" said Baby, running over.

"It's fine, Baby," said Lily. "Just…tell Race if you see him, okay?"

"Okay…" Baby watched them walk away, concerned.

* * *

Race crossed over the Brooklyn Bridge back into Manhattan. As he turned a corner, Nico cut him off.

"You're comin' with me," said Nico.

"Get lost, Nico," said Race. "Tell Morello I'll come see him later today."

"No, you're comin' now," said Nico.

"And how do you plan on makin' me?" Race asked.

Nico whistled and around the corner, Bruno walked, Lily's arm firmly in his grip.

Race sighed. "Okay, I'm comin'. Just leave her out of this, okay?" said Race.

"Boss wants the girl too," said Nico. "He figured you might need a little additional motivation and help for this job."

"Okay, I'm comin'," said Race, following Nico.

"Race, what's going on?" Lily asked as Race fell into step on the other side of her. Race could tell from her voice that she was scared.

"It's gonna be okay, Lil," he said, taking her hand and giving it a squeeze.

"What is this all about?"

Race sighed. "I don't know." He tried to not let on that he was just as scared as she was.

Nico and Bruno led Race and Lily into Little Italy where they arrived at Morello's house. Nico opened the door, and Bruno pushed them inside.

"Ah, Mr. Higgins," said Morello.

"Hi, Mr. Morello," said Race.

"This must be your girl," said Morello.

Lily looked nervously from Morello to Race. Race gave her hand another squeeze.

"Yep," said Bruno. "She's the one he's always with."

"Good. Good," said Morello. "You might need a little motivation for this job."

"Please, Mr. Morello, can we keep Lily out of this?" asked Race.

"I'm afraid not," said Morello. "You see, you borrowed from me, and you've been working it off, but not quickly enough. I need a return on my investment immediately for…other business."

"I don't have any money," said Race.

"I know," said Morello. "Which is why I'm offering you a once in a lifetime chance to completely clear your debt. I have a job that needs to get done, and it needs to get done very quickly and quietly. I would have my men do it, but they're not the quick and quiet types, as you can tell. There is a grocer on Greene Street who needs to receive a message. I need all the cash that is kept in his register, and I need his supply of fish spread over his floor."

Lily and Race shared a look.

"Fish?" Race asked, making sure he heard correctly.

"Yes," said Morello. "To drive home the point that we are going to get our money back from him no matter what. But if he forces our hand, he will sleep with the fishes."

Race nodded.

"I need this job done tonight," said Morello. "The grocer closes his doors at 7pm and he arrives at work to take deliveries at 4am. It must be accomplished within those hours. This must go off without a hitch. If you are caught or discovered, you must not trace this back to us. If you do, well…it's not hard to imagine what might become of you. No one would miss two street kids."

"I'll take care of it, sir," Race nodded.

"Good man," Morello nodded. "You may go."

Race and Lily walked out of the house and sped up down the street. Neither one of them said a word until they were out of Little Italy.

"Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god," Lily repeated, stopping and turning towards him. "Racetrack, what have you gotten us into?!"

"I'm sorry," said Race, putting his hands on her arms. "I had no idea he would drag you into this. Lily, I promise. Are you okay?"

"No! I just had two scary Italian guys drag me across the city to be told by another scary Italian guy that if we don't do exactly as he says, he'll throw us into the East River!"

"It's going to be okay," said Race, pulling her into a hug. "Tonight, you to stay home. Don't open the door for anyone for any reason. I'll get Mush to help me."

"No!" said Lily. "My life is on the line here too. I'm coming with you."

"Absolutely not," said Race, shaking his head. "I've already put you in too much danger as it is."

"And it's too late for me back out now," she said. "I'm not putting my life into Mush's hands."

Race sighed. "Lily…"

"End of discussion," she said.

Race sighed as they walked back toward Tibby's. Race knew arguing was pointless.


	7. The Break-In

_November 1897_

Later that night, after she was sure the girls were all asleep, Lily snuck out of bed. She quickly and quietly got dressed and put on her coat. She crept down the stairs and out the door.

"Race?" she whispered into the night. "Race?" Race was supposed to meet her outside her lodging house. She sighed and sat on the top step, waiting for him. After waiting what seemed like forever, she was beginning to think he had grabbed one of the guys to help him.

"Lil? Lily?" she heard a quiet voice. She looked up and saw a dark figure approaching. It was Race.

"It's about time, where were you?" she asked quietly.

"It took forever to wait for some of the guys to finally fall asleep," he said. "Let's go."

They walked down the road toward Greene Street.

"So what's the plan?" she asked.

"I checked out the place earlier," said Race. "There's a high window that faces the alley way. Hopefully we can jimmy it open and crawl through."

"We need to hurry. It's already one," said Lily, as they passed a clock tower.

"We got time," said Race.

They came upon Greene Street and Race led her to the right building.

"This is it," said Race. He led her down the alley. There were a couple upturned crates in the alley. Race pointed to the window. "That's how we get in."

"Race, that's almost 10 feet high!"

"There were more crates here earlier," he sighed, running a hand through his hair.

"How were you planning on getting the window open?"

Race pulled a pocket knife out of his pocket.

"Really?" asked Lily. "A pocket knife?"

"It's an old window," he shrugged. "We could just pry it open. I doubt it's even locked."

Lily took the knife out of his hand. "Give me a boost."

Race laced his fingers together and lowered his hands. Lily put her foot in his hands, and he hoisted her up. "I can't reach it. I need to stand on your shoulders to reach it."

"How do you plan on doing that?" Race asked, putting her down.

Lily looked around the alley. "Grab those crates." She pointed to a couple crates behind Race. Lily stacked a couple and Race put two more on top. Lily climbed on top of the crates. They were old and rickety and wobbled.

"Be careful," said Race. "Ellie will kill me if I bring you home hurt."

"Ellie's going to kill you if she finds out what we're doing," said Lily as she leaned against the wall. "Okay, come on this side." Race walked over, and Lily put one foot on his shoulder. "You good?"

"Yeah," said Race, holding onto her ankle. Lily gingerly put her other foot on his other shoulder. She wobbled a bit. "Easy. Make sure you lean on the wall."

Lily nodded and leaned against the wall as she opened the pocket knife. She stuck the blade through the crack between the window and the sill. She managed to widen the crack and fit her fingers through. She pulled, trying to break the lock. There was a loud snap, and the window opened.

"Got it," she said. "It's not a big window, but I think we'll fit." She put her hands on the sill and hoisted herself up. "This is gonna hurt."

"What?" asked Race. Right after he asked, Lily disappeared through the window and he heard crashing from inside. "Lily! Lily, are you okay?"

"Yeah," he heard her grunt, and more rustling around. "Give me a minute, I need to stack some crates."

Race heard her rustling around inside, and then saw her head appear through the window.

"Okay, ready?" she asked.

Race climbed up on the wobbly crates. Lily was halfway through the window in order to reach him. She grabbed his hands with hers and tried to leverage her weight on the window to pull him up.

"Pull!" he said.

"I am pulling!"

"Pull harder!"

"You're heavy, okay? I'm a girl, I don't have that much muscle."

Race tried his best to use his feet to climb the window. Race managed to grab onto the windowsill and hoisted himself up.

Lily hopped off the crates as Race climbed through the window. She jumped down and let him climb onto the crates and jump onto the floor.

"Okay, I'll do the fish, you get the cash," said Race.

Lily nodded and they split up.

Lily walked to the front, being careful to avoid the storefront windows. She grabbed a pin out of her hair and tried to pick the lock. She had no luck. She tried over and over and over again. She pulled out the knife again and tried to jimmy the drawer open, but to no avail.

"Race!" she whispered loudly. "Race!" Within moments, Race appeared from one of the aisles.

"What?"

"This isn't working," she said. "The lock isn't budging."

"Keep trying. I'm almost done with the fish. This place is already starting to reek."

Lily sighed and kept trying to lock. The longer it took her to pick the lock, the more nervous she became and the more her hands shook.

"Still nothing?" Race soon appeared around a corner.

"Ick," said Lily, smelling the fish all over him.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," he said, wiping his hands on his pants.

Lily kept working at the lock. Suddenly, she heard a familiar click. "Finally," she breathed. The drawer rolled open. Empty.

"Shit," she said. "There's no money in here."

"We can't go back to Morello without money," said Race.

"What if we told him the drawer was empty?" asked Lily. "We can't take something that's not here."

"That won't be good enough for him," said Race. "I wonder if there's a back office where the money would be."

Lily and Race walked toward the back of the store. There was one door that led to the outside, and another door off to the side.

Lily tried the door, but it, too, was locked. It took her too long to pick the lock.

"Hurry up!"

"I'm trying, okay?"

"We don't have time," said Race. "Move aside."

Lily stood up and stepped away. Race kicked at the door. After two hard kicks, it burst open. They rushed into the office, looking for any place the money could be.

Suddenly, a voice from behind them demanded, "What's going on here?"

Lily and Race turned around to see a man standing in the doorway, hands on his hips. The grocer.


	8. Arrested

_November 1897_

Race and Lily sat on the floor, facing the grocer as well as two policemen.

"I caught them rummaging around in my office," said the grocer, as one of the policemen took notes. "This, after they spread my entire supply of fish all over my store."

"We will be sure they are taken care of," said the policeman. "This one will be taken to the House of Refuge, I imagine for quite some time." As the men talked, Race watched a boy carrying crates of goods in from out back and stacking them in the aisle. Two other boys were mopping up the mess from the fish, throwing dirty looks at Race. "The girl will be taken to the orphanage over on Chambers Street. Matron McIverly will be sure she is properly rehabilitated. I'm sure she could use the help with the younger ones."

Lily closed her eyes at the mention of the orphanage. Her first home. Race took her hand.

"I'm so sorry," he whispered. "I should never have—"

"Quiet, you!" the other policeman barked when he heard Race talking.

As the policemen and grocer continued to talk, Race watched the box boy bringing in the crates. If they timed it just right, they might be able to escape. If only the policemen and grocer would turn their backs.

Race nudged her hand and she looked over at him. Race gestured with his eyes to the back door. Lily discreetly followed his gaze, and Race looked at the floor once more. He didn't want to let the policemen catch on.

Lily looked back over at Race, who glanced up at her. She shook her head, barely perceptibly. Race shrugged.

Out in front of the store, there was a loud crash and loud horses' neighing that jolted them out of their silent conversation. Everyone looked. Two carriages had crashed. The carriages had tipped, and the riders and drivers were all tangled up. The two horses were bumping and whinnying, tangled up in their harnesses.

Race quickly looked up at the grocer and policemen, whose attention was diverted. Race sprang up. As soon as she noticed Race was rising, Lily quickly stood up, and both of them bolted out the back door.

"They're getting away!" they heard from inside.

Race ran toward the door with Lily right behind him. He was almost there when he suddenly found himself on the ground, a huge weight on top of him. He heard Lily yelp in surprise.

Race looked and saw one of the boys who'd been mopping on top of him, and the other one had Lily's arms firmly in his grasp. The boy got up and picked Race up with him. The policeman put handcuffs around Race's wrists.

"The buggy just pulled up around back," said the policeman. "Make sure this one goes straight to the refuge. Madame McIverly is already on her way to pick up the girl."

Race looked over at Lily who had tears in her eyes.

"I'm so sorry," he said.

* * *

"Where are Race and Lily?" Baby asked as they lined up at the circulation gates. "Lily was gone when we woke up this morning."

"So was Race," said Jack.

"Hey, hey, hey," Mush grinned. "Maybe they finally came to their senses and…you know…" He winked.

Baby rolled her eyes.

"They should still be here by now," said Jack.

Just then, Boots rounded the corner and ran straight at the group. "Jack, Baby, Mush – come quick. Race and Lily just got arrested."

Without a word, the group took off, following Boots' lead. They ran toward Greene Street in time to see the Refuge buggy ride away with Race in the back.

"Race!" yelled Jack. "What happened?"

"Long story. You've gotta get Lily, they're sending her back to the orphanage," Race said.

"Get out of here, you street rats!" the driver called, making the horses go faster.

"We'll get you out, Race, don't worry!" Jack called.

"Get Lily!" Race yelled.

Baby ran around to the front of the store in time to see a police officer shake the hand of someone in a handsome cab and the cab drive off.

"You find her?" Mush asked, rounding the corner.

"She's gone," said Baby, watching the carriage drive off.


	9. A Deal

_November 1897_

Lily sighed as she sat on the steps of the orphanage, watching the people on the street pass by. Pretty soon, two familiar figures appeared.

"Baby. Ellie." Lily stood up and ran to the fence. "How's Race?"

"He escaped," said Ellie. "He's fine."

"Are you okay?" Baby asked.

"I'm fine," said Lily. "This place hasn't changed at all."

"LILY!" They heard a scream from the front door of the orphanage.

Lily looked back and saw Miss McIverly making her way over.

"Cheese it," said Lily, running away from the fence. Ellie and Baby disappeared around the corner.

"Lily, you get back inside this instant!" Miss McIverly yelled at her, grabbing her arm and dragging her across the ground. "You have a visitor coming."

"Who?" asked Lily.

"You'll see. Come with me."

* * *

Lily sat alone in Miss McIverly's drab office, waiting for this mystery visitor. The small window behind the desk showed nothing but the brick wall of the building behind it. The office was gray with dull brown furniture. Lily ran her thumb over the smooth wood of the armrest.

There were muffled voices in the hallway. One was Miss McIverly's and the other was a male. Something tugged at the back of Lily's mind – she knew that voice, but couldn't place it.

The door opened and Lily didn't dare turn around. She heard the door click close and someone walked up behind her and around the chair. She didn't even look up. She heard the person walk around Miss McIverly's desk and sit down.

"You have quite a bit to answer for, Miss Lily," the man said. In an instant she knew exactly where she recognized the voice. Her heart pounded. She looked up and saw Morello sitting at the desk, his hands folded in front of him. "Your job was very simple. It should have taken you 15 minutes at most."

Lily opened her mouth to respond, but choked on her fear. No words came out.

"I heard the story from one of my boys," Morello continued. "No money in the drawer, and by the time you thought to look in the office, the grocer came in to open his store up." Morello shook his head. "Such a shame. I had high hopes for you two."

"What now?" Lily's throat was so dry; it came out as a whisper.

"Well, the bottom line is you took on the debt when you and Higgins agreed to take on the job. So you must either pay off or work off your $50 debt."

"Fifty dollars?" Lily asked, incredulously. There was no way she could make that much in a lifetime.

Morello nodded. "Higgins can't do it alone. It's an exorbitant amount of money for a newsie to have to pay back. I will expect him to pay back a whole dollar a week, every week for the next year."

"We can't afford that," Lily shook her head.

"I'm aware," said Morello. "I gave you the chance to work off the debt once and for all, and you failed. From now on, I will only accept cash."

Lily closed her eyes.

"However, there is an option to pay this whole debt in a month," he said.

Lily's head snapped up. "A month? How?"

"I own several brothels here in the city and a few in Jersey that you could work at," said Morello. "You come with me now, work for a month, and you and Higgins are free and clear."

Lily's stomach turned. "No."

Morello put his hands up. "Fair enough. Can't say I didn't try." He stood up and grabbed his coat and hat. "Now, if you'll come with me, I can give you a ride to your lodging house."

Lily paused. "You're getting me out of here? What about Miss McIverly?"

"You're no good to me locked up in here," said Morello. "Miss McIverly and I have reached an agreement."

Lily hesitantly stood up and followed Morello out of the building.

* * *

Race, Jack, Baby, and sat in Tibby's brainstorming ways to bust Lily out of the orphanage.

"That thing is closed up tighter than Fort Knox now," said Jack. "They raised the bars around the house, bars on all the windows, all the doors have locks. Guess they were tired of kids running away."

"There's gotta be a way," said Race, resting his chin on his fist.

"Is there any time the gate is open?" Baby asked. The bell over the door rang. "Lily!" Baby cried, standing up.

The boys turned towards the door and saw Lily walk through.

"Lily!" Race ran to her, hugging her tight. "How did you bust out?"

"I need to talk to you," said Lily. "Now."

Race nodded. "Okay." He turned to the group. "We'll see you fellas later."

Baby frowned and glanced over at Jack, who shared her expression, as Lily and Race walked out of Tibby's.

Lily led him out of the restaurant and into the next alley. "Has Morello found you yet?"

Race paused and then nodded. "Yeah. He, uh…he got me out of the refuge. Why? Did he come see you?"

Lily nodded. "He sprung me too. Told me we have to pay him a dollar a week, or…"

Race put his hands on her shoulders. "It's gonna be okay, Lily. I'm gonna pay him back. You're not going anywhere." Lily bit her lip and nodded. Race could tell she had tears in her eyes. "What's wrong?"

"Race, we can't spare a dollar a week," said Lily.

"We will," Race assured her.


	10. Sick

_November 1897_

Race and Lily pooled their extra money from the week.

"Ninety-four cents," Race sighed, rubbing his face. "I could sleep in the street tonight, that'll save the six cents at the lodging house."

"No, let's take it from food," said Lily. "We'll split dinner tonight and skip breakfast tomorrow." She put six more pennies into their pile.

"This is going to be a long year."

"But we're in this together." Lily patted Race's arm.

"We shouldn't be." Lily looked over at Race. "It's my fault we got into this mess. I should have never involved you. If it weren't for me…"

"There's no use on dwelling on that now." Lily put her arm around him. "Let's just focus on this week. We made it. Only forty-nine weeks to go."

* * *

Over the next several weeks, Lily and Race sold papers from dawn to dusk, covering as much territory as possible. They never bought extras, for fear of not being able to sell them. Instead, they would buy them a little at a time, never wandering far from the distribution center to get more.

* * *

That winter, a severe cold wave hit New York City. It was always snowing – so much so that the Newsies could hardly get dry and stay that way. For many of the city's orphans, who had no warm clothes or shelter, and hardly ate, it was a death sentence to many.

* * *

 _December 1897_

Race sat by Lily's bed, holding her hand, listening to her labored breath.

"This is all my fault," he said.

"Race, that's all you've said for the past hour," said Ellie, putting another blanket over Lily.

"It's true, though."

Ellie sat down on the other side of Lily's bunk. "I won't tell you you're wrong."

"You think she's gonna be okay?" asked Race.

Ellie shrugged. "No telling. All of us girls have gotten sick this season, but it's hit Lily the hardest. She has no strength because she doesn't eat because all of her money goes to Morello."

Race looked up at Ellie. "How did—"

"Lily told me," said Ellie, looking at him. "She tells me everything."

Race sighed. "It should've been me that got sick instead of her."

"If that were the case, Lily wouldn't be sitting here, she'd be out making sure she made the dollar you owe Morello this week." Race looked down at Lily. "Go, Anthony. Sunday's a big sellin' day and your payment is due in the morning. I'll look after her."

Race brought Lily's hand up and kissed it before laying it down on the bed. He grabbed his hat and walked out of the lodging house.

* * *

After a day of selling two people's worth of papers, Race stopped by Tibby's and then headed to the girls lodging house.

"How is she?" Race walked in. Jack was standing in the lobby with Ellie.

"Fever still hasn't broke," Ellie sighed, wringing her hands.

"She's awake," Baby said, walking down the stairs. "Sorry I'm running a little late, Jack."

"It's all right," Jack smiled the smile of a smitten man.

Ellie smirked at Jack. "Where are you two going tonight?"

"Out," Baby grinned as Jack put his arm around her.

"About time," Ellie grined.

"Can I…?" Race pointed up the stairs.

Ellie nodded. Jack and Baby turned and walked out of the lodging house. Race walked up the stairs and into the girls' bunkroom.

"Race," Lily grinned as he walked into the room.

"Hey, how you feelin'?" he grinned, sitting next to her bed.

"A little better," Lily said.

"Good. I brought you somethin'." Race held up a bowl of hot soup.

Lily raised her eyebrows. "I'm sure Tibby's is gonna be thrilled that you're stealing their dishes."

"I'll bring it back." He handed her the bowl. "Now eat up."

"Normally I would say we can't afford this, but since you already bought it…" She took a sip of the soup and closed her eyes. Nothing had ever tasted so good.

"Good?" Race asked. Lily nodded and took a few more sips.

"How did sellin' go today? You make enough for tomorrow?"

"Yeah," Race lied. "That's how I could afford the soup."

Lily looked at him suspiciously, but didn't say anything as she finished the soup. "Thanks for bringing this."

"You're welcome. Gotta keep my partner healthy."

Lily smiled tiredly and set the empty bowl on the nightstand. She scooted down into the bed and lay down. "Will you stay a little while?"

Race nodded. Lily settled onto her pillow and closed her eyes. She reached over and took his hand. "I had a dream we paid Morello off."

Race paused when he felt how hot her hand was. "Yeah?"

"Mm-hm," Lily nodded and she drifted off to sleep. "We were happy." Her breath became even.

"I'm always happy when I'm with you," Race whispered, but Lily was already asleep. Race sat with her well into the night, not wanting to leave her.

"Time to go home," Ellie said, walked up behind Race.

Race nodded. He kissed Lily's hand and set it on the bed beside her.

Ellie watched him as he turned around and walked down the stairs. She followed him.

"You need to be careful," she said.

"About what?" asked Race, putting his hat on.

"Lily," Ellie answered. "She's a precious girl, and you need to protect her first and foremost. That includes protecting her from going cold, hungry, and sick."

"What do you think I'm tryin' to do?"

"You are trying, I'll give you that. But don't make any promises you can't keep. And while I think you and Lily would be the couple of the century, I don't think you two together would be a good idea right now," said Ellie.

"Who said anything about bein' a couple?"

"Anthony, I know you. I see you around her. Your entire mood lifts the minute she walks into the room. Your world revolves around her. I just want you to keep your distance in that area…for now."

"Why?" Race frowned. "I care about her, and I'm pretty sure she cares about me."

"Is that why you've dragged her into all your trouble?" Ellie asked.

"I didn't mean to. I didn't want to. It just happened."

"If you really cared about her the way you think you do, you wouldn't put her in danger like that. You wouldn't be selfish when it comes to her."

Race sighed and walked out of the lodging house. His stomach turned as his thoughts turned toward the next morning, when he'd have to confront Morello and tell him he was twenty cents short.


	11. Short

_January 1898_

"We're a little short this week," Race said nervously as he handed over his sixth payment to Morello.

"How short?" Morello asked, counting out the money. "This is only 75 cents."

"I know," said Race. "Papes haven't been—"

"I don't care about the newspapers," said Morello. "Our deal was a dollar a week."

"I'm sorry," said Race. "But that's all we have."

Morello sighed and set the coins down. "You disappoint me, Mr. Higgins. You were short last week as well. And the week before."

"But Lily was sick!"

"And?" Morello raised his eyebrows.

Race sighed. "We'll make it up next week."

"You better," said Morello. "If I don't receive what's missing from this week and last week in addition to what you owe me for next week, or if you ever come to me short again, Nico and Bruno are going to break both of your legs. For now, they will give you a little taste as you leave."

* * *

Race limped home, trying to stay on side streets and in alleys to avoid being seen. If Lily or Ellie saw him, they would just worry. He tried to think of a cover story. But luck was not on his side. As he turned the corner from an alley he saw Lily standing on the sidewalk in front of his lodging house, her arms crossed, tapping her foot. Baby and Jack stood at the top, kissing.

"My goodness, you would think you hadn't seen each other in a year," Lily rolled her eyes.

"Yeah? You know you wouldn't be sayin' the same thing if this was you and Race," Jack smirked.

"Baby, you told him?!" Lily blushed.

"Sorry, Lily…"

"Don't worry, your secret is safe with me." Jack winked. He put his arm around Baby and they walked off down the street. "Don't worry, I'll have her back sometime next week," he joked.

If Race hadn't been in so much pain, the bit of conversation would have piqued his interest.

As Lily rolled her eyes again and turned away, she caught sight of Race.

"Hey Race," she grinned. "Ready to sell?" As he got closer, she noticed the shiner on his cheek. "Race! My God, what happened?" She rushed over.

"Nothin'," Race lied. "Just a run-in with some guys across town."

Lily knew it was a lie. She knew Monday mornings he paid Morello. "Tell me the truth. And why are you limping?"

Race sat down on the stoop and Lily sat next to him.

"A kick to the gut when a guy's down will do that," he rubbed his stomach.

"What happened?"

"Don't worry about it."

"Anthony Higgins, tell me right now," said Lily. "And you better not lie to me. I can tell when you lie."

Race sighed. "We were a little short and Morello had Bruno give me a taste of what will happen if we're short again. He said next week we owe him another dollar plus what we were short this week or…" Race knew better than to lie to her, but he couldn't scare her with the truth.

Lily's eyes filled with tears and she covered her mouth with her hand. "Race…"

"Lil, please don't cry," he said, putting his arm around her. She put her head on his shoulder, turning in to him. "It's gonna be okay."

"Why didn't you tell me we were short?"

"I didn't want to worry you," said Race.

Lily sighed and looked back up at him. "THIS is worrying me!"

"It's nothin', really."

Lily looked at him, but he didn't give. "Fine. Let's go get our papes." They walked to the distribution office and bought their papers for the day, screaming the headlines through the streets, selling all they could.

As they sold, Race thought about what he'd overheard that morning. Jack said Lily wouldn't be complaining if it had been her and Race kissing. It confirmed what he'd been suspecting for a while – that Lily felt the same way about him as he did about her.

Ellie's words stuck in his head – it wouldn't be a good idea. If she was going to be his girl, he needed to be able to protect her and take care of her. That wasn't going to happen for a long time.


	12. Love

_January 1898_

Lily and Race sat together the next Sunday, combining and counting their money so Race could make a payment to Morello.

"Eighty-six cents," Race sighed.

Lily rested her face in her hands, rubbing her eyes from a long week of working.

"How are we going to do this?" she asked. "We still need thirty-nine more cents to make up for last week."

"I'll get it," said Race. "I will."

Lily sighed. "How? We've borrowed from almost all our friends," she said, looking at the list they kept. "And we haven't been able to pay any of them back." She bit her lip. "We may not have a choice," she whispered.

"No," said Race, shaking his head and looking at her. "I'm not putting you through that."

"Morello said—"

"I know, but you're not going there. I'm not going to let him put you in a brothel to pay off my debt on your own."

"Well then how are we going to make 39 cents in," she looked at the clock, "twelve hours?"

"I will," Race said, resolutely. "I will."

* * *

The next morning, Lily sold papes with Baby. Baby could tell Lily was distracted by something.

"Everything okay?" Baby asked Lily as they sold their last of the morning edition.

"Yeah," Lily sighed as they walked to Tibby's.

"Liar," Baby nudged Lily.

Lily gave a small, wry smile. "It's a long story."

"We got time before the afternoon edition gets out," she said, walking toward the door of Tibby's.

"Actually, I was going to get a few more papes to sell," Lily gestured in the direction of the circulation office.

"Okay, what is going on?" asked Baby. "It took us forever to sell our first stack, and now you're going back for more? You won't be able to sell any."

Lily knew Baby was right. She chewed on her lip as she followed Baby into Tibby's. They got and table and sat down to wait for the boys.

"Baby, if Jack were in trouble – real trouble – what lengths would you go to keep him safe?" she asked.

Baby furrowed her brow, thinking it an odd question, but answered anyway. "I'd do whatever it took."

"What if it meant…hurting yourself? Or doing something he'd hate for you to do, just to make him safe?" Lily asked.

"What the— Lily, what is going on?" Baby asked, leaning in. "I'm really worried now."

Lily sighed. "If I tell you, you can't breathe a word to anyone."

Baby nodded. Lily told her the whole story – Race's debt, the botched robbery, why they were put in the refuge and orphanage, and the current deal with Morello.

Baby sat back in her chair when Lily finished the story. "Wow."

"As of last night we were thirty-nine cents short," she said. "I don't know if Race got it this morning. Honestly, every minute he's not with me scares me that he's off in an alley somewhere dying."

"So what was with all those questions earlier?" asked Baby.

Lily sighed. "I'm wondering if it would be worth it just to…take care of it, you know? Go to Morello myself. It'll only be a month, and then Race and I can move on."

"You think it's something you'd regret doing?" Baby asked.

"Probably," said Lily. "But I need to weigh it against the fact that Race and I are going to be under this guy's thumb for a year. We can hardly eat because we have to save so much. We can't go on like this." Lily looked down at her hands. "I just don't want Race to hate me for doing it."

"What are things like between you two?"

Lily shrugged. "We're friends."

"Only? Still?" Lily nodded. "Have you talked to Ellie?"

Lily shook her head. "She'd kill Race if she knew about that part." She sighed. "What would you do?"

Baby thought for a moment. "I don't know. I really don't. On the one hand, I'd do anything to keep Jack safe, but part of me would be afraid Jack would think I was…ruined for doing it."

"That's what I'm afraid of," said Lily. "But at the same time, he only thinks of me as a friend, so I don't think I have to worry about that."

* * *

Race rounded the corner and saw Lily sitting on the stoop of his lodging house.

"I thought you'd be at Tibby's," said Race.

Lily's head snapped up when she heard his voice. She sprang up and ran to him hugging him. "Thank God, I've been so worried," said Lily. "I kept thinking you'd gone back to Morello short of money and you were lying in an alley somewhere bleeding to death or getting tossed into the East River."

"I'm okay," said Race, holding her close. "I got the money. I made the payment. We're okay for another week."

Lily sighed and pulled back a bit to look at him. "Another week." She stepped back, out of his arms. She slowly walked back to the stoop and sat down. Race followed her and sat beside her.

"I don't think we have a choice anymore," said Lily. "We can't keep this up for another nine months."

Race shook his head. "No, absolutely not," he said. "I'm not going to let you go through that."

The tears streamed down Lily's cheeks. Race pulled her into his arms and held her tightly. Lily cried into his shoulder as he rested his cheek against her head.

Lily pulled back and looked at him. "I want this whole mess to be over. I'm going to Morello in the morning."

Race shook his head. "Lily, please don't," he said.

"What choice do we have?"

"I will find a way," he said. "I will make it work. I will find more work. I will do whatever it takes."

"You can't," said Lily. "It's been nearly three months, and we haven't even been able to come up with all the money ourselves. By the time the year is out, we'll owe our friends as much as we owe Morello." She bit her lip. "And every Monday morning you have another black eye from those guys."

"Lil, I don't ever want you to go through that. And knowing it would be because of me that you were doing it…I couldn't live with myself."

"But if I did…would you hate me?"

Race wiped her tears away. "Lily, I could never hate you. This problem shouldn't even be yours to fix. It should be mine."

"But it's not."

"I know," said Race. "So…you're not gonna go to Morello, right? You're gonna stay here with me?"

Lily bit her lip and nodded. "Yeah, I'll stay," although she knew it was a lie.

They stayed in silence for a few minutes. By the time to sun began to set, Lily's mind was made up.

"Come on, I'll walk you home," Race said softly.

Lily nodded and they stood up.

About halfway there, Race took her hand in his, lacing their fingers together. Lily looked down at their hands and then up at him. Race looked over at her.

"I don't know where I'd be without you, Lily."

"Probably laying in a ditch somewhere," she smirked.

Race chuckled and stopped walking. "I'm serious, though. You've been here with me through everything. And I hate myself for getting you involved."

"Don't. Even if you didn't get me involved, I would've involved myself. I couldn't let you do something like this alone."

Race grinned. "That's what makes you so great."

Lily grinned back and Race stepped in and hugged her. She rested her head on his shoulder, neither one of them letting go, neither of them wanting to. Lily closed her eyes, loving being so close to Race. The comforting weight of his arms around her, the feel of his shirt against her cheek, feeling his chest rise and fall with his breathing against hers.

Race rested his head against hers. When he held her, he felt like everything was going to be okay; that no matter what happened, they would be together and that was all that mattered. He felt her rest her head against his shoulder, her forehead against his neck.

Race rested his check against hers, his lips right by her ear. "I think I'm in love with you, Lil."

Lily bit her lip, tears of joy and pain coming to her eyes.

"I love you too, Race," she said. Race held her tighter and Lily closed her eyes.

Church bells rang in the distance.

"It's getting late," Race said, though he made no move.

"I don't want to go home." Lily rested her head on his shoulder.

"We could go to Medda's…she's always open late," said Race. Lily nodded. Race pulled back and took her hand as they walked to Medda's.

* * *

They sat in the back of the warm theater. Lily's head was resting on Race's shoulder, and Race's arm was around Lily. His other hand held one of hers.

They didn't say anything. They didn't need to.

Lily felt safe in Race's arms. Despite all the trouble he'd brought to her life, she always felt safe with him. But she knew that if something didn't change, he wouldn't be with her for long. She loved him more than anything and knew there was only one way to ensure he would be safe forever.

Lily looked up at him. "I've loved you for a long time."

"Why didn't you ever say something?"

Lily shrugged. "I figured you just thought of me as one of the guys."

Race shook his head. "I always knew you were the one for me."

Lily rolled her eyes and smirked. "Always?"

"Okay, maybe not that long," he chuckled. "But for a while."

"Why didn't _you_ say something?"

Race looked forward and paused. "I knew I didn't deserve you."

Lily lifted her head off his shoulder and looked at him. "What do you mean?"

"Look at this mess we're in." He looked at her. "I caused it. I caused it and I dragged you into it. A guy like me has no business having a girl like you."

Lily looked at him for a few moments before she leaned in a kissed him.

Race rested his forehead against hers. "You're a good guy," said Lily. "The best I know."

* * *

Later that night, Race walked her back home.

"I'll see you in the morning," said Race.

Lily felt her throat tighten knowing it wasn't true. She would be long gone by the time he'd be looking for her. "I love you."

"I love you too."

Lily stood on her toes and kissed him one last time. Nothing else mattered – not Morello, not their debt, not their impending fates – all that mattered was they were together. For now.


	13. Where's Lily?

_January 1898_

"Where's Lily?" were the words on everyone's lips the next day. Ellie and Baby saw her at the lodging house the night before, but she had disappeared between the lodging house and the circulation office. The had newsies fanned out across the city in search for her.

Baby rested her elbows on the table at Tibby's and rubbed her face. "I don't know where else to look," she sighed.

"Any luck?" Race asked, walking inside.

"Sorry, Race," Spot shook his head. "I got my boys lookin' all around Brooklyn. No one's seen or heard of her."

"What about the Bronx? Queens? Maybe she got over to Staten Island. Anyone look uptown?"

Jack shook his head. "Race, we've got every newsie in the city lookin' for her. No one's seen her."

Race ran his hands over his face. "What about Jersey? Do we know any newsies from over there?"

Ellie burst into Tibby's. "What's this I hear about Lily going missing?"

"She's gone," said Baby. "She left early from the lodging house, but we didn't see her at the circulation office."

"How did she seem last night?" Ellie asked. "I was asleep before she got home."

"She was fine last night. Last night was…" Race looked down.

Baby eyed him. "What happened last night?"

"We…well…none of your business," said Race.

Baby raised her eyebrows, but didn't say anything.

"You think Morello's boys took her?" Ellie whispered to Race.

"No," said Race. "We made our dollar this week, there's no reason for them to take her."

* * *

The train slowed as it pulled into the Atlantic City train station.

"Here we are," said Bruno, standing up. He grabbed Lily's arm and yanked her up.

"Easy," Lily frowned. "Look, I'm coming with you willingly, I'm not going to run."

"I wouldn't put it past you," said Bruno. "Word has it you tried to run after the botched grocery store job."

Lily rolled her eyes as Bruno dragged her off the train. He held onto her arm all through the train station, onto the trolley, through the streets of Atlantic City, and down three blocks until they arrived at a three-story house near the end of the boardwalk.

"Here we are," said Bruno. "Your home sweet home for the next month."

Lily didn't say anything as he dragged her into the house.

"Madame Dumont, I've got a new girl for you," said Bruno. "This one is one of Morello's."

"Another one? My goodness, business must be boomin' for you big city boys," the madame said. "How long do we get this one for?"

"Only a month. And if you don't mind, once you get her settled, I'd like to have the first go." Bruno winked.

Lily closed her eyes and sighed.

"As usual," the madame chuckled. "Roxy, take the new girl upstairs, get her settled and into a new dress."

* * *

"Where'd you take her?" Race burst into Morello's office.

Morello raised his eyebrows. "She didn't tell you?"

"Didn't tell me what?"

Morello grinned sadistically. "Oh, how tragic. Please, have a seat."

Race sat down. "What's going on?"

"Miss Lily approached me this morning," Morello said. "She came to me saying she decided to take me up on my offer. She should be getting to work about now." He looked at his pocket watch.

Race felt like he got sucker-punched. It took him a minute to find his voice. "What?"

"An act of love, in my opinion," he said. "She said she knew you two wouldn't be able to make a whole dollar every week and she couldn't bear to see you hurt anymore."

"Where is she?" Race asked.

"I'm not going to tell you that," Morello chuckled. "Ask me in a month when your debt is paid and I'll give you her exact address."

"Please," said Race.

Just then Bruno walked into the office and nodded at Morello. "No, Mr. Higgins. You'll find out when your debt is paid. Have no fear, though. She is in good hands. Bruno here escorted her there this morning."

"Even broke her in myself," Bruno winked.

Rage boiled inside of Race. Letting out a string of curses, he clenched his fists and lunged at Bruno. Nico intercepted him and pushed him away.

"Nice try, boy," said Nico.

"That will be all, Mr. Higgins," said Morello, gesturing for Race to leave. Nico grabbed Race by the collar and threw him out of the house, onto the street.

Race stood up and dusted himself off. "One more thing, Mr. Higgins," said Morello, stepping out of the house. He flicked an envelope toward Race and it landed at his feet. "She asked me to give this to you." With that, he stepped inside and closed the door.

Race grabbed the envelope and tore it open.

 _Race,_

 _Please don't hate me. I love you – that's why I'm doing this. I want us to be free from Morello. You saved me from the orphanage – let me save you this time. I love you too much for us to live like this. Please, please forgive me._

 _Lily_

Around 4am, Lily climbed the stairs and walked into the bunk room. She changed out of her dress and into a nightgown one of the girls had given her.

"How was your first night, dear?" asked one of the girls.

Lily didn't respond. She just crawled into bed and cried until she drifted off to sleep.


	14. Explanation

_January 1898_

"She's gone," said Race, walking into the girls lodging house.

"What do you mean?" Baby jumped up.

"Gone where?" asked Ellie.

Race sighed and sat down. "Just please let me get through the whole story before you kill me, okay?"

Ellie gave him a look. "No promises."

Race told them about the deal with Morello, his conversation with Lily the day before, and his conversation with Morello that evening.

Baby put her head in her hands and rested her elbows on her knees. "Oh, Lily…"

Ellie was so angry she was trembling. She stood up and walked to the window. "I can't even look at you, Anthony."

"Look, I didn't know she was gonna go off and do this, okay? She mentioned it to me, and I tried to talk her out of it. I thought I had."

"If you hadn't gotten her involved, she would never have run off to do this," said Baby.

"I didn't involve her, okay? She was the one who kept wantin' to help me."

"Then you got her into that grocery store job and got her hauled off, and from then on, she was involved," said Baby.

Race sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. "No one regrets this more than me, but…there's nothin' I can do now."

"Yeah there is," said Ellie, turning towards him. "You can leave."


	15. Falling Asleep

_February 1898_

Race lay in bed thinking about Lily. He hoped she was okay. He tried not to think about what she was doing at that moment, because he knew it would lead to yet another sleepless night. He thought back to their last night together. How she felt in his arms. The feel of her head on his shoulder. How she fit perfectly into his arms. The light scent of fresh soap in her hair. Holding her, kissing her, promising himself things would change. They certainly had.

* * *

As the sun rose over the ocean, Lily climbed out of the bath and toweled off. She wiped her make up off and put on a nightgown. She padded across the hall into the bunkroom and slid between the clean sheets of her bunk. She stared out at the sunrise for a few moments. The exact same sun would be waking the newsies up pretty soon. Baby and Ellie would be getting up, going through their morning routine without Lily. Race would be getting up, getting his papes. He'd sell on his and Lily's corner with Mush or Jack. She thought about his crooked smile and how it always made her heart skip a beat. How no matter what, he always made sure she was okay. How she felt lightheaded when he told her he loved her.

She had been counting down the days until she'd be free to go. She was well into her third week at the brothel, and every night felt like a month.

Her thoughts turned to the future. How could she ever go back to Manhattan? She was ruined. She was a whore. Race would never want her now.


	16. Reunion

_March 1898_

"Congratulations, Miss Lily," said Morello.

"What are you doing here?" Lily frowned, turning around in her seat at the vanity.

Morello raised his eyebrows. "I came to tell you that after tonight, your debt is paid. You are free to go. You can go back to New York City and live your life with Mr. Higgins, just like you always wanted."

"What's the point anymore," Lily sighed.

"Oh, don't be so dramatic," Morello rolled his eyes. "Go back to Manhattan, or stay here and make some money for yourself. Either way, I don't care." He stood up and walked out.

Lily bit her lip and turned back to the mirror. All month, she'd dreamed about going back to Manhattan and Race. Now, the idea gave her a stomachache. She realized she didn't have a cent to her name. She would have to work to just get money to go home. She sighed and continued applying rouge to her cheeks.

* * *

"Where is she?" Race asked, first thing the next morning.

"Mr. Higgins," said Morello. "Exactly a month – if only you'd been so prompt with your payments." He chuckled.

"Hilarious," said Race. "Now where is Lily?"

"There's a brothel in Atlantic City that I own," he said. "It's a couple blocks from the end of the boardwalk, near the vaudeville hall."

"Atlantic City?" asked Race.

Morello nodded. "I'm sure she'll be home soon…well, as soon as she makes enough money to buy a train ticket."

Race turned and walked out of the house. He went straight to the distribution center to buy his papers.

"Did you find out where she is?" Baby asked.

"Atlantic City," Race said. "I'm leavin' today after I sell. Will you tell Ellie for me?"

Baby nodded. "You have enough money?"

Race nodded. "I think so. I've been saving every day since she left so I could go wherever she is and bring her home."

Baby reached into her pocket and grabbed the few coins she had and handed them to Race. "Make sure you bring our girl home."

* * *

Lily sat at the vanity, taking her makeup off. It had been a longer night than usual. The sun was already up over the ocean.

"I thought you'd be out of here by now," said one of the girls in the bunkroom. "Ain't you got a fella back in New York?"

"Yeah," said Lily. "But I can't go back there."

"Why not?"

Lily sighed. "After what I've done, I don't know if I could bear it. I'm sure he hates me for coming here. He never wanted me to do it in the first place."

"But you did it for him – that's so romantic."

Lily rolled her eyes and crawled into bed.

* * *

Several hours later, Race sold his last paper and bought his ticket to Atlantic City. He boarded the train and took his seat, anxious to get there as quickly as possible. It was late afternoon. He knew Lily would be starting work around now.

* * *

Lily lay on the bed as the gentleman put his clothes on. He reached into his pocket and tossed a couple silver coins onto the bed. Lily closed her eyes. That was the worst part. He walked out without a word.

Lily sat up and put the coins into the pouch she kept all of her money in. She looked inside. She had just enough for a ticket home, but couldn't bear to go back. She was too afraid of what would – or wouldn't – be at home waiting for her.

* * *

Race walked inside the establishment and looked around. There were scantily clad woman lounging around, talking to men, some waiting for a man to walk in.

"Can I help you, honey?" a short, heavyset woman behind a counter asked.

"Uh, yeah, I'm lookin' for a girl," said Race.

The woman laughed. "Ain't you all." She waved her hand around the room. "Take your pick. Prices are up there. Fifty percent up front, paid to the house. Give the rest to the girl." She gestured to a small sign. The "menu" made Race sick. "No, uh, a specific girl…Lily? She came in here to work a month ago?"

"She's with a customer right now," said the madam. "You're welcome to wait for her."

Race nodded. He took off his hat and sat in a chair near the counter. He wasn't sure how long he'd be waiting, and every minute was torture.

A man came down the stairs, straightening his suspenders. He avoided eye contact with Race as he grabbed his hat and coat and walked out.

* * *

Lily got off the bed and cleaned up. She put her corset and dress back on. She checked herself in the mirror. She fixed her hair and make up and took a deep breath, bracing herself for the next one. She walked out of the room and down the stairs. If she was lucky, she could get to the bourbon before the next man grabbed her. At least it would take the edge off for the rest of night.

* * *

A movement on the landing of the stairs caught Race's eye. There she was. Finally. She was beautiful. A green satin dress clung to her, showing off all the curves that her street clothes hid. Her hair was curled and pinned up, and she was wearing eyeliner and rouge. He was so caught off guard by her looks that he forgot his voice. He felt awkward and clumsy approaching her. His heart raced.

"Lil?"

Lily's heart nearly stopped at the familiar voice. She looked and saw Racetrack standing at the foot of the stairs. She was so stunned she couldn't speak. Her eyes filled with tears. All at once, she felt shame, relief, sadness, anger, and an overwhelming urge to run into his arms. But her shock won out, keeping her rooted to the spot. She didn't know what to say to him.

"How you doin'?" Race asked, walking up the stairs to meet her. "You okay?"

Lily nodded.

Race wrung his hat in his hands. "Are you in…any trouble?"

She shook her head.

Race paused for a moment. "Lily, talk to me. I've come to take you home." The tears streamed down Lily's face. Race stepped in and pulled her close to him.

"Hey!" the madame called from the counter. "I said fifty percent up front!"

Lily sighed. "Relax, he's not a customer."

"Can we go somewhere and talk?" Race asked quietly.

Lily nodded. She took his hand and led him through the back of the house, through the kitchen and out the back door. There was a small, overgrown back yard. Lily sat down on the back steps and Race sat next to her, putting his arm around her.

"What's going on, Lil? Why won't you talk to me?"

Lily shook her head. "You don't want me anymore, trust me."

"Lil, that ain't true," said Race, resting his forehead against her temple. "I love you. I want you to come home with me."

Lily broke down sobbing. Race pulled her into his arms.

"It's okay, Lil. I'm here." That only made Lily cry harder. "Lily, it's going to be okay. Whatever it is, we're gonna get through it together. I'm here, and I'm not going anywhere."

She pulled back and looked up at him. "Why are you here?" she managed to get out.

Race was taken aback. "What do you mean? Morello finally told me where you were. I'm here to take you home."

"I can't go back." Lily shook her head.

"Why not?" Race asked.

Lily gave him a look. "I'm a whore."

Race stiffened. "No you're not."

"Did you forget what I've been doing the last month?"

"Lily," Race said softly, running the back of his finger down her cheek. "That's not who you are. You're my best friend. You're the one I want to be with. Everyone misses you."

"You still want me after…?"

Race cupped her face. "Of course I do. I love you, Lily. I want to take you home. We can go home and it will be just like old times. No more Morello, no more debt, no more Nico and Bruno."

Lily bit her lip at the mention of Bruno. Race didn't want to upset her more, so he didn't mention what Bruno had told him.

"Lil, you made a huge sacrifice for me," said Race. "You paid my debt, even though I couldn't deserve it less. You took care of me. Now let me take you home and take care of you."

"I can't go home." Lily shook her head. "Everyone will look at me differently."

"No they won't," said Race. "The only people who know where you are and why are me, Ellie, and Baby."

"You told Ellie?" Lily's eyes filled with tears again.

Race nodded. "Don't worry. She's mad at me, not you. She misses you the most."

They sat there together on the back steps for a few moments in silence.

"I've missed you so much, Race." She rested her head on his shoulder.

"I missed you too," he said quietly, resting his head against hers. "Soon as I found out you left, I worked and saved for a train ticket to wherever you were."

"How are we gonna get home?" Lily asked.

"I saved enough for three tickets. One for me to get to you, and two for us to get home."

Lily looked up at him.

"Let's go home," said Race.

Lily nodded and they stood up together. "Just let me change and get my things."

Race nodded. "I'll wait for you out front."

* * *

The moon was high in the sky when Lily walked out of the brothel forever. She was wearing the clothes she'd left in and only had a small pouch with her that held her money.

"You hungry?" Race asked.

Lily shrugged. "A little."

"Let's get something to eat," he said. "The next train for Manhattan doesn't leave until tomorrow morning."

They walked down to the boardwalk and had a small dinner before they went to the train station. Race bought their tickets and they sat in the train station.

"The train doesn't leave until five in the morning," said Race as they sat down. "You might as well get some rest."

Lily sat next to him. "I'm okay." She rested her head on his shoulder and he put his arm around her. Lily reached up and took his hand that was around her shoulder and laced their fingers together.

"Thank you for coming to find me," Lily said, closing her eyes.

Race kissed her forehead.

Lily was quiet for a few moments. "You remember that night before I left?"

"Of course," said Race. "Thinkin' about that night is the only thing that's gotten me through this last month."

"Me too." Lily swallowed. "When we get home, can we just pretend it's the day after that night? Pretend none of this ever happened?"

Race kissed her head. "Whatever you want."


	17. Home

_March 1898_

Race and Lily watched Manhattan rush past them through the window of the train.

"Home," said Race, putting his arm around Lily.

"I'm so scared to see everyone."

"Don't be," said Race. "They don't know why you left, and they don't have to."

Lily looked at him. "Race, I—"

"Stop apologizing," Race softly cut her off. "You have no reason to. It's behind us now. It's just you and me now."

Lily leaned in and gave him a kiss. Race tightened his arm around her.

"I missed you so much," Race whispered. "I could hardly sleep at night, imagining…" Race shook his head.

Lily bit her lip and rested her head on his shoulder.

"Extra! Extra! Thousands of Queens residents evicted!" Baby called out the headline. "Government kicks residents out of homes!" Several people rushed to buy papers from her.

"Never knew people so anxious to learn about a building's rat problem," Jack chuckled as the customers walked away.

Baby giggled. "Mayor stands by as thousands become homeless!"

"I smell a fake headline," said a voice behind Baby.

Baby turned around and came face to face with Lily. She screamed, dropped her papers, and tackled Lily in a hug.

"Oof!" Lily grunted as Baby squeezed her.

"Thank goodness you're home! We've been so worried!"

"I missed you too," Lily grinned, hugging Baby back.

"Where'd you go? Why'd you leave?" Jack asked.

"Um…" Lily started.

"Geez, don't bombard the poor girl with questions, we just got off the train," said Race, stepping up beside her.

* * *

Race and Lily spent the rest of the day walking around downtown and reuniting with all their friends.

Once the afternoon hit, they walked to the Wakefield Textile Factory. They spotted Blink and Specs waiting across the street from the factory.

"What are you guys doing here?" Lily asked.

"We're just waiting for Ellie and Penny," Blink responded.

"Who's Penny?" Lily asked.

"New girl," said Specs. "She and another girl, Nancy, moved into your lodging house this summer. They both work at the factory with Ellie."

"Penny is Specs' new girl," Blink grinned.

Lily grinned. "Well, she must be something to have caught Specs' eye."

"She is," Specs grinned.

They heard the closing bell and girls began to pour from the factory.

"There she is," said Lily after a few minutes. They saw Ellie walk out of the factory, talking to two other girls.

They watched the girls talk as they walked in their direction. Ellie turned to look ahead and she froze when she spotted Lily.

"What's wrong, Ellie?" Penny asked, looking from Ellie to Race and Lily.

It was several seconds before Ellie moved again, this time quickly and determinedly crossing the street, headed straight for Lily. When she got to her, she didn't even stop. She pulled her into a tight hug.

"I can't begin to tell you how angry I am that you left without a word, but I am SO glad to see you!" she said.

"It's good to see you again," said Lily, tears running down her cheeks.

Ellie pulled back and looked at her, cupping Lily's face in her hands. "Are you okay? You're not hurt or anything?"

Lily shook her head. "I'm fine."

"Good." Ellie nodded. She looked at Race. "I want you to remember this last month for the rest of your life. I want you to keep it in the forefront of your mind as a reminder to always put this girl first. You take care of her and protect her above anything else."

Race looked at his sister as he took Lily's hand. "You know I will."


	18. Settling Back In

_April 1898_

Lily sat on the curb and watched Race sell the last of his papers, like she had so many times before, but it was different now. She was different. Everything was different. For a month, she'd thought of nothing but coming back home and being with Race, but she felt like she couldn't settle in again. Race seemed to forget what she'd been through all too easily. It was easy for him to slip back into the way things were. For Lily, not so much.

Before Atlantic City, when men had looked at her on the street, she thought nothing of it. Back then she didn't worry about it. Now, she knew exactly what the men were thinking when they looked at her. She recognized the slightest smirk or sneer. She could've sworn she'd seen familiar faces from Atlantic City, but could never be sure.

"Ready?" Race asked.

Lily jumped. She'd been so lost in her thoughts that she hadn't heard him approach.

"Yeah." She stood up. Race took her hand and they walked down the street.

"You hungry? Want to go to Tibby's?"

Lily shrugged. Race put his arm around her waist and she stiffened momentarily before relaxing again.

"If you want to just go get a pretzel, we can," Race suggested.

"Doesn't matter."

"What's wrong, Lily?"

"Nothing," she snapped.

Race sighed. "Okay."

A group of men walked towards them on the sidewalk. As they passed, one of them looked at Lily, as if trying to figure out where he'd seen her before. Lily leaned in, walking closer to Race. Race sensed something was wrong and put his arm around her. The men passed by them without incident.

"You okay?" He rubbed her shoulder.

"I'm fine."

"You wanna talk about it?"

"No."

"You want to just go back to your lodging house?" Race asked.

"Yeah." Lily nodded.

They detoured from the route to Tibby's and walked to the lodging house and when they got there, Lily turned and walked up the steps.

"Lil," said Race, still standing at the bottom. She turned and looked at him. "Did I do somethin' wrong?"

Lily hadn't realized she'd been frowning the whole time until she felt her face relax in reaction to his words. "No, you didn't."

"Then what's wrong?" He walked up a few steps. "Please, talk to me."

Lily shook her head. "You don't want to hear."

Lily's heart broke a little at the pained expression on Race's face. "Lily," he whispered, walking up to her step. He took her hands. "I love you no matter what, okay? I'm never gonna let anything happen to you. You're safe now."

"I know," she said softly.

Race squeezed her hands. "I'll see you tomorrow?"

Lily nodded. Race leaned in and gave her a kiss, but he could tell Lily's heart wasn't in it.

"I love you," he said before walking down the steps and down the street. Lily watched him go before going inside the lodging house.

* * *

Race waited with Specs outside the Wakefield Textile Factory. The bell rang and the factory girls began pouring out.

"There she is," Specs grinned as Penny walked up to him. He gave her a kiss and they walked off.

"Hey El," said Race.

"To what do I owe the pleasure?" Ellie raised an eyebrow. "You have barely let Lily out of your sight since you brought her back."

"Uh…yeah…" Race rubbed the back of his neck.

"Trouble in paradise?" Ellie asked as they walked along.

"Lily's changed," said Race.

"Well she's been through quite a bit," Ellie responded.

"I know she has, and I try to be understanding, it's just…if she's not angry, she's sad or apologizing to me all the time. She's always crying. " Race sighed. "I just want my happy Lily back."

"That may take some time," said Ellie. "She told me about everything she had to go through. It wasn't pretty."

Race looked up. "She has? She won't even talk to me about it."

"Of course not. Look, Race, she feels so ashamed of everything, I don't know if she will ever say anything to you about it. Every day for a month, she has hated herself. That's not going to change over night."

"Just wish there was something I could do."

"There is. Just be there for her. Don't push her. Don't ask about anything. Just do what you two used to do. Let her feel like things are normal again. She'll open up."

"I've been tryin'," said Race. "But she's just so…well, she's all over the place. It's like she's mad at me, but she says she's not."

"Well, she should be, in my opinion," said Ellie. "But she's not. Be patient. Our old Lily is still in there."


	19. New Job

_May 1898_

"There she is." Race grinned as Lily walked into Tibby's. Lily smiled and sat next to him. Race put his arm around her. "I was wondering where you ran off to."

"I, um, I got a job as a housekeeper in Gramercy Park," said Lily.

Race's smile faded. "Really? Why? I mean, that's great…just…you're not gonna sell with me anymore?"

Lily took his hand. "I'm sorry, I just…can't be a newsie anymore."

"That's okay…is everything okay?"

Lily nodded. Her eyes filled with tears.

"Don't worry about it," he said, squeezing her hand. "I understand. So tell me about this job."

"The man of the house only lives there when he's in the city on business. There's a very small staff at the house, just a butler, a cook, a gardener, and me."

"Rich guy," said Race, raising his eyebrows.

Lily nodded. "A Vanderbilt."

"Vanderbilt? As in _the_ Vanderbilts?"

Lily nodded. "One and the same. It's not a lot of work. I just go in the mornings and keep up the house – more if he's in town. I guess when I'm not working for him, I could sell papes with you."

"Only if you want to," said Race.

Lily's eyes softened. "You're wonderful, you know that?"

Race winked and gave her a kiss. Through the window, they saw a group of their friends heading toward Tibby's.

"Can we go?" Lily asked. "I want to talk to you alone."

"Sure," Race nodded, standing up.

* * *

Lily and Race sat on the roof of her lodging house, looking out over the street.

"I haven't felt the same since I got back," said Lily. "I guess I'm hoping a new, different job will snap me out of it."

"You do whatever you need to do." Race took her hand. "I'll be right by your side the whole way."

Lily bit her lip. "I know I've been difficult these past few weeks," said Lily. Race looked over at her. She paused. "There's so much to say, I don't know where to begin."

Race squeezed her hand. "It's okay. Just start wherever."

"I was scared to see you again." She looked up at him. "All month, I'd seen nothing but the worst kind of men. Soon I began to think, 'this is what all men grow up to be.' Even though I knew it wasn't true, I was afraid to come back to you and find out that once I did what I did, you'd treat me like it. All the other men did. I'd see them on the board walk, being perfect gentlemen to their women, and they'd come to the house and act like…" Lily's voice cracked, "animals."

Race put his arm around her, rubbing her shoulder.

"Not all of them were bad. None of it was pleasant, though. But as the sun came up every morning, and I was about to go to sleep, I'd think of you. About how no matter how bad it got, it was worth it.

"I didn't want to believe someone who'd done what I did could be loved. Then you showed up, and all at once I was relieved and ashamed. I wanted to run to you and run away. And you were so sweet and loving. I didn't think I deserved it, but I wanted it so bad. I guess that's why I've been a little…back and forth lately." She looked up at him. "I just wish we could go back to the way things were. Before I left."

"Me too," said Race. "I love you, Lil. Nothing you could ever do or say will change that. And we're going to get through this together. I blame myself completely for what you had to go through and I would do anything to take it all back." He kissed her temple. "And I promise you, I'm gonna make a great life for us."

Lily gave him a small smile before she put her head on his shoulder. Race put his arm around her shoulder, holding her close. Together, they watched the sun sink down behind the skyline.

* * *

 _Author's Note: Lily, Ellie, and Baby will return in_ The Lies That Bind.


End file.
